Programme details

Personal mobility has more than doubled in the last 20 years.
Added to this, the transport of freight is also placing an ever-greater burden on our transport infrastructure.
Transport is increasingly becoming a key factor for our economic competitiveness. At present, several factors are seriously compromising Europe's efficiency in this area, posing a potentially important threat to our economic competitiveness. These include:
- congestion on the main road and rail routes;
- lack of interoperability between transport modes and systems;
- the harmful effects of traffic on the environment and public health;
- the heavy toll of road accidents;
- the uneven growth in the different modes of transport.


Creation of a Single European Transport System

Through the "European Research Area" concept, the European Commission is supporting the creation of an effective common market for EU research, thus providing a vital strategic instrument for the development of the future generation of transport modes and infrastructures.
The challenge is to build a single, European transport system which is both sustainable and competitive, based on increased interconnection between the automotive, railway and maritime systems - with a higher degree of intermodality for freight.

Automotive Transport

In the automotive field, vehicles will have to comply with stricter regulations. The ultimate goal must be a 'near-zero' emission transport system.
Road safety also needs to be improved, an optimised integration of preventive, passive and active safety systems will be necessary to ensure the protection of passengers and other road users. In this case, the ultimate goal has to be a near-zero accident rate.
The vision for the future must take the citizens - "the users" - point of view as its starting point. The very concept of mobility is changing, new types of services being developed could make access to car transportation much more flexible, providing the chosen car at the time and location needed.

Rail Transport

At the heart of the sustainable development strategy is the need to shift the balance between the modes of land transport.
Revitalising rail transport will be the single main strategic sector on which the success of the efforts to shift the balance will depend. To increase efficiency and capacity of the system, tools like the European Rail Traffic Management System are being designed to achieve this by harmonising regulations on signalling, telecommunications and traffic management.

Sea and Inland Waterways Transport

Another important means of alleviating road congestion would be to shift land transport to sea and inland waterways. The most effective way to revive short-sea shipping is to build effective sea "motorways".
Intermodality is fundamental for developing competitive alternatives to road transport. Action must be taken to ensure fuller integration of the various modes of transport, through technical harmonisation and increased inter-operability.

Galileo

To tackle the problems of congestion, safety and security, the European Union has recently launched Galileo; an independent radio-navigation programme based on a network of satellites that will cover the planet. By 2008, this project will provide the EU with a system offering global coverage, which will meet the requirements for accuracy and reliability. The EU will thus have at its disposal an essential tool for the future development of transport policy.

Conclusion

The European Commission is working towards the creation of integrated and sustainable transport systems in Europe, able to cater for current and future mobility needs, thus providing the prospect of both improved mobility and a healthier and safer environment for European citizens.